Since the invention of the electric light bulb over a hundred years ago, lighting solutions have been developed to bring electric lighting into the homes of consumers. Light fixtures and luminaires come in a variety of forms, including table lamps, sconces, floor lamps, and chandeliers. Some light fixtures have even been integrated into or combined with existing pieces of furniture—such as cabinets, shelves, and étagères—to provide both pleasing aesthetics and illumination to a room.
As humans continue to spend more of their time indoors, it can be desirable to bring plant life into indoor environments as well. Potted plants, flowers, and even trees can be sustained indoors for a limited amount of time, bringing vegetation indoors and “sprucing” up indoor décor.
However, many kinds of plant life require specific environmental conditions in order to grow and thrive. Because sunlight can be filtered through windows and otherwise be limited indoors, some plants are typically not suitable for indoor growth.
Some plant growth solutions exist that attempt to provide supplemental lighting and/or watering to encourage and facilitate plant growth. However, these solutions are often industrial and intended for large controlled plant growth operations and are inappropriate for an in-home solution.
It is accordingly an objective of the present invention to provide lighting solutions that are aesthetically pleasing, suitable as in-home décor, and that can facilitate plant growth.
In addition, plants grow in size and may outgrow the constraints of the planter or structure to which the planter is coupled. For example, a hanging planter may house a vertically-growing plant that, once grown to a certain height, can no longer fit within the hanging structure (e.g., the plant abuts a ceiling or other structure). Furthermore, the intensity of light and/or the proximity of light may affect the growth of a plant. It is therefore another objective of the present invention to provide lighting solutions with adjustable elements for varying the distance between a grow light and a plant.
Some plants grow more effectively under controlled conditions without ambient or environmental light. Thus, a further objective of the present invention is to provide lighting solutions that allow for the modulation of ambient or environmental light.
These and other objectives and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed written description and figures.